A caravaner and her beast
by Newtinmpls
Summary: An exploration of silt striders in Morrowind. Darvame Hleran/Vodunius Nuccius (neither is in the character list - I'm way behind on forwarding requests to the moderators). You will note from the cover image that in playing Morrowind, I'm using the better bodies mod.
1. Chapter 1

_Authors note: There just isn't much explanation for the existence of dunmer caravaners in Morrowind. There are occasional references to silt strider corpses in the Ashlands (of all places), and a hint at some gruesome "hollowing out" of the poor things and steering and controlling them by "manipulation of organs". Well. That just won't do. In a magicka-rich environment, I think we can come up with a better back story than that._

**Standard disclaimer: I do not own Morrowind, or any of the other wondrous creations of Bethesda Softworks, however I certainly lay claim to misspellings, mistakes, tweaks, spells and characters of my own creation.**

Darvame hummed softly to herself as she massaged the flexible surface at the front of the caravaner's seat of the interior of Velgath, her strider. The strider's soft 'hoon' of pleasure rose around her and the two of them wove a quiet melody and counter-melody. It was twilight, and she knew that she would soon be ready to settle and sleep for the night.

"Hello?" Came a familiar masculine voice from below. "Is that you I hear making music with your beast, Darvame?"

She chuckled softly in recognition. Vodunius kept saying that he'd rather be almost anywhere than Seyda Neen, but for all his talk, he'd been here for years, sharing a house and fishing labors with Fine-Mouth. Between his skills with a spear, and Fine-Mouth's own natural fishing abilities, Darvame had her suspicions as to what was happening to the formerly high level of pearls found in the nearby kollop beds.

"Come on up, outlander." She called back to him. It was an old taunt.

"Right away, dark elf." He made his way down the elevated caravan pier, and carefully climbed into the passenger's seating. "You spend all your time with this creature. Is there some attraction I should know about?"

She turned slightly to raise an eyebrow to him. "All the years you have known me and suddenly you chose to ask about my craft now?"

"It seems I'm never going to get out of this place. The least I can do is travel vicariously by listening to your tales of wandering adventure."

Ah. The reference to 'tales of wandering adventure' was a familiar one, and explained Vodunius' sudden overt curiousity. Hrisskar had been more drunk than usual last night. He must have said something about a certain ill-omened trip.

She said nothing, but said it so pointedly that after a moment the Imperial raised his hands, as if in surrender.

"Really Darvame, I'm just curious, that's all. One hears so many tales. I'm told that striders were warped by vile Telvanni magic, I've heard that they are actually quite intelligent and conceal it. I've even heard that their songs carry magicka." He tried to look ingratiating, but he was too frankly curious to pull it off. "Any truth to the matter?"

She continued the gentle massage of her mount. "Ah, the stories that are told during travel. Perhaps if someone actually hired me to take him somewhere instead of just endlessly talking about it, we would have not only time, but solitude to have some very interesting discussions."

"I'm a poor-"

"Kollop fisher, and we both know what that means." She spoke quietly. He obviously didn't want the true state of his finances known, and she was willing to respect his privacy. But things must be paid for. That was in the nature of the world.

He rose both eyebrows, in pseudo-shock.

She looked at him in silence.

After a good three minutes, he finally shrugged. "Okay." He said. "Would you be for hire for a private walk round the route that your beast chooses?"

"Velgath." She corrected him.

A loud reverberating 'hoon' echoed her comment.

Vodunius looked curiously at the front of the beast. "I thought." He began.

She shook her head. "No, Vodunius Nuccius, you did not think, you only listened to over-told tales by drunken guards."

He had the grace to look embarrassed. "Well, yes."

"So on the morrow, we shall see the pearl you bring, and offer you travel and a tale in exchange."

"Nothing for nothing, eh?" The corner of his mouth curled in a smile that made him look more attractive.

Darvame smiled. "Not in Morrowind, my friend."

He rose carefully. "I shall look forward to my lesson, my friend."

As the chill of evening brought out faint traces of dew onto the nearby walk pier, Darvame settled in to the front center of Velgath's passenger pouch. She pressed her hands against the sensitive inner antenna and hummed softly in a tone that when from high to low. Velgath crooned back to her, and then slowly began shifting her wingstubs. Slowly a greenish film formed, extending itself from both of Velgath's flanks, slowly moving upward from both sides to form a translucent cover over the resting dunmer.

Darvame relaxed and settled in for the night, laying on her back. Azura's moon was full, although through the lherp, it appeared as a rippled greenish distortion. The stars were not bright enough to be distinguishable. As she fell into a drowsy sleep, the yielding surface of the pouch slowly conformed to her body.

_. Velgath sings to the ones who sky-dance / the little mothers sing back_

_. Velgath sings to the small walkers / they do not hear, but they step in irregular cadence_

_. Velgath sings to the waters that tendril the ground / the waters echo Velgaths song / for they do not have songs of their own_

_. Velgath sings to her daughters / the daughters are listening_

_. Velgath sings to her daughters / a daughter is waking_

The sound of crackling broke discordantly into the musical dream and woke Darvame. The first rays of dawn-light had begun to touch the lherp. It was drying out and irritating the strider's ridges. Velgath began to shrug, clearly intent on letting it fall it away.

Quickly, Darvame reached out both hands to grasp the inner antenna. She whistled in a series of soothing tones, slow chirrups to calm the strider.

Then carefully she stood up, and worked her fingers along Velgath's ridges to loosen the lherp in the largest sections that she could manage. Most of them were about the size of dinner plates. She shrugged as she worked to gather them into a large oiled satchel. T would prefer even larger and ideally thicker specimens to work with, but that would need rain. Darvame glanced up to the cloudless sky and shrugged. You'd think a mage, especially a Telvanni mage would be able to conjure up some damp weather if she really wanted to.

Darvame stepped out onto the walkpier and whistled the trill that told Velgath to slowly turn. As she did so, the thoughtful dunmer examined the strider's lower abdomen. It did seem very slightly swollen. Between that and the change in Velgath's song, Maybe Lunela would have something to occupy her time sooner than Darvame had originally expected.


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's note: After spending far too long cruising the internet in search of long legged bugs to base Velgath on, I finally gave it up as a bad job and started looking instead for bugs whose bodies reminded me of a silt strider. Bonus points to anyone who can figure out what critter I settled on._

**_Standard disclaimer: I do not own Morrowind, or any of the other wondrous creations of Bethesda Softworks, however I certainly lay claim to misspellings, mistakes, tweaks, spells and characters of my own creation._**

The sun was sparkling across the bay waters when heavy footfalls along the walk pier announced the arrival of Vodunius Nuccius.

"Am I too early to presume on your company?"

He was carrying a rolled up quilt, and a large satchel that smelled like some of Arrillee's best culinary handiwork had gone into it. Out of one corner of the leather satchel, Darvame could see what looked like the top of a bottle of shein. Well, wasn't that interesting?

She stepped forward, and in her most genially formal caravaner style, asked. "Where would you like to go?"

He stepped close so that his body obscured the unlikely possibility of anyone trying to observe the transaction. "A diversion if you would. I'm looking to become more educated on the ways of Morrowind, and I would cure my outlander's ignorance with a lesson."

In his hand, centered in a gold cloth surely dyed by Kanet pollen, sat a teardrop shaped pearl with a green-blue sheen. It was softly radiant in the sunlight, and it was at least half the size of a man's thumb.

He added softly. "I think we both value discretion."

"Indeed." She said. This one peal could have purchased him the price of passage on a ship out of Morrowind several times over. Which begged the question of what he really wanted in Seyda Neen.

Perhaps the privacy, the blanket and the shein pointed to a pleasantly diverting potential answer.

"Let us start with a journey to Vivec." She said mildly. "Perhaps I can teach you a thing or two about Morrowind, oh outlander."

He smiled. "I would be pleased."

"Pray be seated. Our travels will begin shortly."

He settled himself carefully on a low bench, and let the bundle rest beside him. He looked to each side, and frowned slightly. A very slightly rhythmic rocking motion began.

Darvame raised an eyebrow at the Imperial's consternation. "You were hoping for more of a view?" It wasn't entirely a question, because it was such a common reaction.

"I admit I was."

She perched on the bench across from him, her left hand resting casually on Velgrath's inside antennae. "Early on in the trip, that wouldn't be wise. Velgrath might think you were going to fall out of her pouch. If she gets too excited, she'll try to grab you."

"And that would be bad?"

"Compared to Silt Strider offspring, mer and men are fragile creatures."

"Offspring." He spoke musingly.

They sat in companionable silence for a time. Visible above the edges of Velgrath's pouch were the tops of ferntrees. Though the gentle rocking motion hadn't really changed, the tree tops were passing at a rate faster than most could run.

Vodunius sat back, watching the passage of the branches. "With the speed we are making, I wouldn't expect to take very long to get to Vivec."

Darvame smiled. "And how easy was it to note changes in speed?"

Before he could answer, the passage of the treetops abruptly slowed, and yet there was no apparent difference in the rocking motion of the strider.

The Imperial's right eyebrow rose inquiringly.

Darvame stood and gestured for him to do the same. "It's safe to look now."

Peering over the edge, they could see that Velgrath had stopped quite closely to one of the ferntrees. She was shifting her legs, and rocking a bit, but she was oriented so that she appeared to be nuzzling the fork of the ferntree's branches.

"What?" Voldunius began, and then his comment trailed off.

The strider slowly backed a bit away from the ferntree, and as she did so, a long proboscis became visible, clearly being pulled back from where it had been thrust deep into the crown of the ferntree. It was almost as wide as one of her legs, and as she finally retracted all the way, the Imperial could see that it was hollow. The very tip was edged with what appeared to be a cupped blade.

"She was hungry." The caravaner commented. "Silt striders don't generally care for seawater."

Voldunius watched the last of the proboscis retreat out of sight.

Without any change of the gentle rocking motion, Velgrath reoriented herself and continued past the ferntree. She hooned a rippling song, which Darvame, hands on the strider's inner antenna, answered with a brief whistled counter melody.

The Imperial sat himself down onto the passenger area again. Waiting politely until the musical interchange faded, he said. "All is well?"

The Dunmer nodded. "She'll let me know if anything interesting turns up."

"Is this a good time to ask about any interesting things that have happened in the past?"

Darvame paused and then spoke musingly. "A Telvanni never gives away anything for free, but on the other hand, you have been overly generous in your hire."

Voldunius settled back. "We could trade questions." After a moment he added. "This is a surprisingly comfortable mode of travel."

"Is that your first question?" The corner of her mouth curved in a slight smile.


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's note: In game there is not a whole lot of information given about silt striders, however the one huge gaping clue is that giant remains can still be found in the ashlands. Well, since at the time of Morrowind's creation, there were software issues about how many critters could be where, I've decided that there is a lot more flora and fauna in Morrowind than the average gamer ever got a chance to see.  
_

**_Standard disclaimer: I do not own Morrowind, or any of the other wondrous creations of Bethesda Softworks, however I certainly lay claim to misspellings, mistakes, tweaks, spells and characters of my own creation._**

"So" Vodunius leaned back, and considered the situation. A game of questions, and with a member of house Telvanni at that. This represented an opportunity and a danger. He rather liked that. "As you say, I am an outlander, and one ignorant of the capabilities of such as Velgarth. So I will ask an outlander's cautious question: how safe is this travel by strider?"

Her expression softened from wary to merry and her red eyes seemed to sparkle in the early sunlight. "Such a shy question is how you start, my friend?"

"You have already chided me once for heeding wild tales, hence I would show myself receptive to your instruction and correction." He could see that she caught his double meaning, so he continued. "Raised in Bravil, all I know of striders comes from the very stories you warn me against. So I hope to hear a better tale from you."

"A better tale." She sat back, nestling against Velgarths inner antenna. "Perhaps I can oblige you."

"When most mer think of the Ashlands, they think of death. The few surviving trauma shrubs are twisted by storm and scoured by grit until all that remains is a battered thorn-crowned arch. Scorching sunlight alternates with a bone-chilling sudden nightfall, and when the soul can barely tolerate these extremes, the blight-tainted storms rise seemingly from nowhere and the poorly garbed wanderer, who perhaps had only a brief journey to finish, is later found as a sand-razed skeleton identified by the remains of supplies. Or worse yet, one who initially survives such a storm may be cursed to develop the physical, and worse the spiritual distortions of corpus disease." She paused for a long moment here, her gaze lost in the distance.

After a time she gave herself a little shake, and continued. "There is beauty, but it goes hand in hand with danger. The rare sweet scented valley where fire petals bloom in fact serves as a warning that a steam fumarole is likely to erupt."

Vodunius listened thoughtfully. Her tone indicated experience, not merely a story.

"And yet," She continued. "There is much hidden from those who only glance, who ward themselves from the obvious dangers and hasten past the points of beauty."

"One such hidden treasure is the strider."

Voldunius' eyes widened. "They come from the desert?"

The dunmer's expression twinkled with mischief at his surprise. "They come from the desert. In fact many can still be found there. It's only the smaller ones that tend to be bred and domesticated."

The Imperial made a point of glancing around at the compartment that could easily hold another five or six men or mer. "The small ones, you say." His tone was dry.

She considered. "You have not visited Sadrith Mora." It wasn't a question.

He nodded agreement. "Since my arrival on Morrowind, I have only breifly been to Ebonhart. For the moment Seeyda Neen is my home." Then, realizing what she might be alluding to, he said. "I have heard tales of the Mushroom towers of the Telvanni."

"Exactly." She nodded, pleased. "There are insects which lay their eggs in the stalks of the Slough Ferns. You can recognize them by the swelling that develops. Looking afterward, one sees a slender stalk with a rounded section and if one looks carefully, often a small hole can be seen by which the egg once hatched and grown departs. Such is the manner in which the Telvanni shape their homes; causing the plant to grow and form shelter."

"Sometimes considerably more than mere shelter, or so I've heard."

"Would a mage ever be content with a simple thing?" Darvame asked.

In leiu of answering, Vodunius merely chuckled.

"Exactly." She confirmed.** "**So is it with the striders. The great beasts of the inner desert could likely survive travel across the island, but the Telvanni who adapted them sought a more comfortable journey." She patted the side of the passenger compartment. "Here, where we ride is a pouch found in the wild, but not open to the air. In the domestic Strider, it is one of two."

Voldunius noted the testing quality in her voice. She'd earlier said that Velgarth would try to grab him if he fell out. Which meant ... He said slowly. "In the wild Strider, this would be a pouch for offspring? Or eggs?"

"Very good outlander." Her tone was approving. "Strider offspring are much the size of a mer, and by using this pouch to create a riding space, the strider becomes very protective of any passengers."

"And a boy strider?"

She laughed, and when she'd recovered sufficiently to answer, she said simply. "There are hardly any such, outlander. Domestic Striders only rarely give birth, and when they do, the young, or eggs in a colder climate, are generally all female."

"I don't think I've ever heard of such a thing. Or heard of anyone finding a baby Strider."

She sighed. "In the desert you might, but generally out of the sands, they do not survive long. Most desert striders travel little, finding a place they can eat, and staying there. Here Velgath considers Seyda Neen her home. She will travel to places she knows, but after a certain age it is useless to attempt to guide a Strider to a new location. They are very much creatures of habit."

He looked at Velgath's inner antenna, and thought about how Darvame was so attentive to her beast. She could communicate, or at least commune with Velgath, that much was obvious. She hadn't said anything about how fast Striders grow, but if the beast had to be taught to travel, and this had to be done at a 'young' age, and the pouch would only have so much room.

"You have given me information, and I do thank you for that." He spoke carefully. "However I must recall that you mentioned a story."

She was silent, considering him for some time. Then she began.

"Once upon a time there was a young mer. She was curious and adventerous as perhaps all young are. She would play in the sands near the waters, and be warned away from the slaughterfish and mud crabs and Dreugh and sload. She would play in the towers and be warned away from the grown-ups who were all busy with grown-up things. She found, however, that at certain times of year, there were many small mudcrabs about, and these would take food from her hands. Also though she could visit her family's tomb, there were few of the ancestors who had time and patience to answer her questions."

At this point, Voldnius was tempted to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from asking anything more; she was raising more questions than she was simply giving answers. Possibly deliberately to divert him to more general questions, but if her story was meant as a distraction, it was working.

"It was one of those ancestors, her aunt seven times removed, who told her that if she wanted to travel, that there was a way. Were she to bond with a strider, she could learn to travel with it, and to hear it's songs, and maybe even learn to sing them. So it was that the young mer went to her cousin Llunela to ask about a strider. At this time, Seyda Neen was even smaller than it was now, and had little commerce other than fishing. But Llunela saw that in time it would become a place of more travel, as negotiations with the Empire were taking shape."

As it happened, some time ago, Navam Veran, the caravaner for Ald'ruhn had reported that his beast was singing of birth. There were three candidates who rode with her for some long time, seeking to hear the dreaming song of she who was to be born.

"And she heard it?" Voldunius raised an expectant eyebrow.

"It is likely that was what was supposed to happen." Darvame agreed. "But fate would have it otherwise. During a journey to Maar Gaan, Navram's beast sensed the approach of a sandworm; a beast that even a full grown strider could not hope to defeat. So the strider in the manner of it's kind, emptied it's egg pouch as it retreated. This was a prudent move. The sands were so hot that the eggs, which were close to hatching anyway, began to split shell. The scrabbling efforts of the larval striders attracted the attention of the worm, and the strider's escape was sustained."

"But the young mer, watching the struggling creatures be devoured, and with the memory of the infant's songs still echoing in her sleep-fogged mind, could not bear to abide what she saw. So she called upon her dead guardians to protect her, and lept from Navam's beast."

"She probably should have been killed, foolish child, but the arms of her ancestors slowed her fall. Beleiving that she knew which of the babe's songs she had heard, she ran to one still seeking it's footing in the shifting sands, and held it close, calming it. The seeking sandworm chases moving prey, and the rest of the eggs had scattered, so they were safe."

"In the Ashlands desert wastes, they were safe?"

Darvame chuckled at the disbeleif in the Imperial's tone. "Did I not tell you there was beauty along with the danger?"

He nodded.

"And what mother cannot hear her child's call for help. Navram's strider waited until the worm had passed, and then returned for her child. The young mer had earned her strider and none could argue. So it was when Imperial construction began in Seyda Neen, the strider routes were established."

"When construction began?" Voldunius frowned, trying to calculate when that would have been.

"Velgath's first hired trip was in 384, as Imperials reckon time."

Voldunus was quiet for a bit, then said. "Navram and his strider still reside in Ald'run?"

Understanding the thrust of his question, Darvame nodded. "Yes, she is the oldest by some many years. She was the first." Eyes twinkling, she added. "I think I have answered your query, outlander."

"Indeed."


End file.
